It is still not known if the fishery's self-imposed catch limit will be increased despite the promising signs.
Full results from this month's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) survey of the Foveaux Strait oyster beds will not be known until April.
The survey, carried out every two years for the Ministry of Fisheries, estimates the size of the oyster population and levels of bonamia, a disease that kills oysters.
Bonamia is estimated to have killed about one billion Bluff oysters between 2000 and 2003.
The catch limit was set at 15 million oysters, but the industry had halved that to 7.5 million in 2003 to assist with the rebuilding of the stock.
Ministry of Fisheries southern fisheries team member Allen Frazer said the industry would meet in about a month to assess the survey results and to see whether the catch limit could be lifted.
Barnes Oysters manager Graeme Wright said early indications were that the oysters would be of an even better quality this year.
As well as the survey results, the industry would also consider feedback from the first month on the water, he said. Any move to increase the catch limit would be based on "good science", he said.
"We've had our hard years. But at the end of the day we have invested heavily in science."
Niwa fisheries scientist Keith Michael said bonamia was a disease that affected larger oysters, so it had been a while since many of the older, large oysters had been seen.
"Now we are starting to get quite big-shelled oysters with a higher volume of meat. That's good news for oyster lovers when they hit stores and restaurants on Sunday, if the weather allows."
Over the two-week survey, samples are taken from more than a hundred sites in Foveaux Strait, and sent to Niwa in Wellington for analysis.
MetService was predicting a damp start to the season as a low crosses the South Island, bringing rain to most places on Sunday. While wind changes were predicted, winds were not expected to be strong.
Barnes Oysters factory shop in Invercargill would be selling the first catch for $20 a dozen, up $1 from last year.
Oysters were expected to reach Dunedin by midday Monday, if the boats got out on Sunday. Retailers were expecting prices to be similar to last year's $23 to $25 a dozen.
The season ends on the August 31.
